Alchemy & Automail
by jcurry52
Summary: The love story of a "dog of the military" and an automail mechanic...
1. Chapter 1

**Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth.**

'Water, thirty-five liters.  
Carbon, twenty kilograms.  
Ammonia, four liters.  
Lime, one point five kilograms.  
Phosphorous, eight hundred grams.  
Salt, two hundred-fifty grams.  
Saltpeter, one hundred grams.  
Sulfur, eighty grams.  
Fluorine, seven point five grams.  
Iron, five grams.  
Silicon, three grams.  
And trace amounts of fifteen other elements.'

My heart was racing as I leaned back, observing our preparations. I took a deep breath and lifted my gaze from the ingredients to Alphonse who was sitting directly across from me.

"That outta do it." I smiled confidently and looked him directly in the eye. "You ready?"

Clearly he wasn't. His soft reply was hesitant and almost too quiet to hear, "Mhm."

In an attempt to ease Al's troubled mind, I flashed another reassuring smile and said, "Don't be scared, Al. Everything's perfect... Let's go for it."

"Uh-huh."

I didn't let him see me roll my eyes. Evidently, he was not going to trust me until it was all said and done. But in a few minutes... he would see. He would have a different attitude once we succeeded in bringing _her _back. And we would. ...At least that's what I believed.

There was just a moment of hesitation on my part as I took a deep breath and leaned forward. My fingers threaded through my long blond strands, brushing the hair from my face before clapping. In unison with Al, I connected my palms to each other, followed by the transmutation circle that was etched in the ground.

Alchemy. The science of understanding the structure of matter, breaking it down, then reconstructing it as something else. It can even make gold from lead. But alchemy is a science so it must follow the natural laws. To create, something of equal value must be lost; this is the principle of equivalent exchange. But on that night... I learned the value of something s can't be measured on a simple scale.

* * *

"AHHHHHHHH!"

Even the ongoing thunder that rolled across the sky was not enough to drown out the sound of that chilling scream. A pair of golden eyes shot open and blazed with curiosity as a flash of light lit the room.

"That was Winry!"

Old lady Pinako heard those words, preceded by hasty footsteps towards the front door. As she hurried to the front room, she watched as the young child jerked the door open, letting in the storm. For a few moments, words escaped them both.

"Wait!" She finally called to the child at the door - as he thoughtlessly stepped out into the rain, staring terrified at the glowing house that was his own. "Edward, look!"

Across the field, the Elric's house glowed in such a way that made both Pinako and Edward feel sick. Lightening scattered across the sky accompanied by another agonizing crash of thunder. Utter shock swept over the young boy as things were becoming clear to him now.

"Winry," he breathed her name subconsciously.

The trip she had taken to Dublith. All the secrets lately between her and his brother, Alphonse. The blood of his she had gathered from a fight that Alphonse oddly provoked. It all made sense now. And Edward cursed himself for not seeing the signs earlier.

* * *

Alphonse Elric and I knew the laws of science... of equivalent exchange... that gain required sacrifice... that something had to be taken from us. But we thought there was nothing more we could lose. We were wrong.

Covered in my own blood, I clutched what was left of my left leg. "Al! Alphonse!" I called but heard no answer. "Say something!"

The room was filled with smoke and on the air there was a foul stench. "No! Stay with me!" But he was already gone.

Pain was overwhelming my body. Trembling, I made an attempt to look around the room. "Dammit! This wasn't supposed to happen!"

As the smoke began to clear a bit and I saw that nothing was left of Al but his clothes, I began to feel even more nauseas. "Nooo! What have I done! ... He's gone..."

Suddenly, I started to realize the worst part wasn't over. Alphonse was gone. It was my fault and if I lived through this... I would have to be the one to tell him.

Then... out of no where... a noise stole my attention from my thoughts. I wasn't alone in this room. ... Between the billows of smoke on the air, my weakening vision caught a glimpse of a hand... an arm... in the middle of the circle. Hope gathered in my eyes just for a moment as it appeared that this sacrifice hadn't been for nothing.

"Auntie Trisha?"

But it what I saw it wasn't her. It wasn't human. It was some kind of abomination. It was terrifying and suddenly I felt just a little relief in that Alphonse wasn't there to see what we had done.

Unable to hold in the pain and frustration any longer, I screamed again. This wasn't what we wanted. Tears trailed down my face as I sobbed desperately to myself, "I'm sorry, Edward... Alphonse... I'm s-so... so sorry."

No. I wasn't going to let this happen. There was still time. I was never one to learn from my own mistakes... and so... I had to try. With the knowledge I gained from those moments within the gate, I pulled myself up and got to work.

A trail of blood followed my every attempt to move across the floor. I used all my strength to drag myself to the corner where I saw the first possible thing I could use. Their father's old metal armor. It hadn't been touched in years. Ed always called it 'that useless pile of junk'. But maybe... just maybe...

* * *

"Please..." A scared and familiar voice slipped out from the shaking suit of armor. "You have to help her... she's going to bleed to death."

Paralyzed with shock and anger, Pinako could not move. She couldn't even find the words to speak. In her stead, Edward uttered words for the both of them, "...Al... is that you?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth.**

While Pinako tended to her granddaughter, Alphonse and Edward watched in silence. The only sound that filled the room was the consistent downpour of the pounding rain. Finally, Edward was the first to speak.

"How did this happen, Al?"

Loudly and abruptly, old lady Pinako turned her attention back to the hollow suit of armor and his older brother, "Well clearly, it s a product of mischief! You were trying to bring back your mother, weren't you?"

Those furious words tore from Pinako s lungs with such hostility; Alphonse could only step back in fear. While no insult had been thrown his way just yet, her tone clearly told him that she blamed him for this.

At Alphonse s side, Edward's gaze trailed up from the ground to look into the empty holes that were now his brother's eyes. There was nothing but darkness behind them now. It made him sick. In fact, that was the only thing he could feel at that moment.

Every emotion that passed through him went so fast, he just wasn't sure how to feel. When he saw Winry at the door in the arms of a hollow suit, he felt afraid. When he heard Al's voice come from that scrap of steel, he felt confused. Now, as Pinako clearly placed blame entirely on his little brother, Edward felt anger course through his veins.

His jaw grew so tight that it became sore and he inhaled deeply as to shout at the old, bitter hag. But before a single utterance could be released, the sound of the front door creaking open stole their attention from each other.

"Well, that explains a few things. A human transmutation. I've never seen such a furious reaction before." A man with dark eyes and hair loomed in the doorway and shut the storm out behind him as he stepped in. "Pardon me." He lifted his hand and from his fingers they saw a distinct design engraved on the silver pocket watch.

"A state alchemist?" Alphonse murmured as a question to his brother, who only glared at the guest as Pinako did.

"What are you doing here?" The old woman growled, "I have no time to entertain dogs, can t you see these children are hurt?"

With almost a chuckle in his voice, the military man waved her off and presented them with another explanation in his hand, Take it easy ma'am, I'm just checking the mail."

Both Edward and Alphonse gasped, but Al was the first to speak, "One of our letters! Then you know where our dad is?"

"I only wish kid. We've been looking for the Hohenhiem for a long time and we're still only kicking up dirt."

This time, Edward decided to chip in, Well if you didn't have any information, why did you come? You sure as hell aren't going to find our dad here!"

Amused by this boy s grit, the state alchemist shrugged with a halfhearted smile, "Let's call it nostalgia or misplaced curiosity. Whatever it was I'm happy I came. If your brother here can perform human transmutation and survive, your dad just off from my priority list."

The unexpected and undeserved attention caused Alphonse to fidget and shift his weight back and forth between each leg. Nervously, he gestured towards the occupied bed, "W-well actually, sir ... it wasn't all me. Most of this was done by her..."

As his gaze followed the direction in which the boy was pointing, the state alchemist wondered if he had misheard. '_Could it truly be that this had all been the work of a_…'

What he found lying limbless and unconscious between the sheets made him stare in silence and disbelief. "The girl? … You're telling me it was her? But she's…"

"I want you out of this house immediately!" Pinako suddenly interrupted the alchemist's spoken thoughts. "I've had enough lives ruined by the state!"

Even as the old woman ranted on, the young state alchemist couldn't seem to tear his gaze from the extraordinary sight he was faced with. A girl... no older than twelve or thirteen... was responsible for all of this? All this power.

More shocking still, had the transmutation been performed by the son's of Hohenhiem, that would have been one thing. Alchemy is in their blood. But this this was remarkable. '_The daughter of..._'

Finally, it appeared in his expression that the alchemist had reached an internal conclusion. He flashed another small smile at the boys and Pinako as he made his way out, "The name's Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang, state alchemist. Pay me a visit in Central sometime."

* * *

In the morning, blinding rays of sunlight streamed through the window and beat down against my closed eyelids. I stayed silent and still for some time after regaining consciousness. It wasn't until someone leaned over my body and blocked the overwhelming sun that I was able to open my eyes.

There looming over my bed, placing a wet cloth on my forehead, Edward stared down at me. Behind him I could see a blue sky. It left no trace of the storm from the night before. However it was clear from the look in his eyes that it **did **happen. It wasn't just a dream.

"Where's Al?" I asked softly. "How... how is he?"

But I didn't get an answer. Rather than answer with words, Edward stared down at me with a grim and betrayed expression.

"Edward, I... I'm so sorr-"

"Save it," he snapped before I could even finish. "I don't want any apologies from you, Winry! I want you to tell me how you re going to fix this. What happened to Al is your fault! I want to know how you are planning to restore my brother's body!"

Whether he knew it at the time or not, I did have an answer but just as I opened my mouth to give it to him, Granny came in carrying fresh bandages. "Thank goodness you're awake. I was starting to worry, kid."

I couldn't take my eyes off Edward until he sneered away from me and retreated from the room. When the door shut behind him, I looked at Granny and caught her eye as she dressed my wounds. I could only hope that she would see my desperation.

"The savings that mom and dad left for me... I want to use it, Granny... for... for automail."

My words stunned her and she stepped back as if to get a better look at me. To my surprise she didn't argue or raise a fuss just yet. Instead, she allowed me to go on. "I can't go through my plan lugging around a couple of stumps. I'm going to visit that man, Mustang and become a state alchemist."

It surprised me even more when she sounded more reluctant than angry by my suggestion. With a deep sigh, she replied, "I was hoping you weren't conscious to hear that talk."

"He's not the only one I've heard from." I begin to explain, "The teacher I had told me about state alchemists. They've got access to the federal library in central with books on alchemy no one else has. They'll pay you and fund your research and those pocket-watches amplify alchemic reactions."

At last the lecture I'd been expecting finally came. Granny took a puff from her pipe and raised an eyebrow, "Please tell me that's not all your teacher said. What about state alchemists being the military's attack dogs called into war to mow down the lives of people the state tells you are bad. Did your teacher mention that? In the attacks that took the lives of your parents, there were alchemists involved. When war comes again, are you ready to do the same?"

She made a valid point and in all honestly she almost had me when she mentioned my parents. But there was nothing she could say to change mind. "I don't want to be chained to the state anymore than you..." I paused for just a moment and stared at the door Edward disappeared behind, "But I'll do whatever it takes to fix things."

Following my gaze to understand what had my attention; Granny glanced over her shoulder to find nothing. When she turned back, she sighed again and added, "Fix you or the world? Make sure you ask yourself that."


End file.
